HOI4 - Development Diary - October 12th 2016

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podcat

Game Director <unannounced>
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Hi everyone! Today I will start talking about features coming in the future expansion (still not announced yet, so its name shall remain under fog of war). First up are things related to battle plans and managing unit orders

Paid Feature: Blitz Command
The Offensive Lines in battle plans are designed to expand as a front expands and you take territory. This works fine if what you want to do is push along a broad front, but not as well when you are trying to have several orders in the same area active at once or doing encirclements or more detailed things. As long as such are a couple of provinces microing some armored divisions to do it is no big hurdle, but for bigger stuff that becomes a lot of work. So, to improve on this we are adding another tool to the battle plan toolbox for you to use: Blitz Command. A blitz command works differently in that when you activate it it remembers the area you tell it to take and will do that without readjusting its width or caring about other things getting in its way. Perfect for drawing pincer movements and encirclements!
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We have also worked on the AI’s ability to identify encirclements and choke points, so even though it's easier to plan an encirclement now actually successfully pulling them off will be more difficult.


Free Feature: Configurable Garrison Order
The Garrison order has gotten some love and you can now configure what you want it to guard and care about. So if you only care about ports and coastlines you can select only ports and coastlines for the order. It will also help you a bit and count up how many divisions are at least needed so that it can place one on each spot according to your order.
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Thats it for this week but we are doing a Q&A stream today during World War Wednesday at 15:00CEST so tune in if you have questions (about anything really) and I'll do my best to answer :)
 
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I foresee a vigorous discussion about blitz command being a paid feature.
 
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What are those new icons on the theatre shields? Is that number of fronts, normal (shield) and blitz (sword)? Now that you leaked it, we expect some comment :D
 
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I foresee a vigorous discussion about blitz command being a paid feature.
My thoughts exactly. No doubt this is a move in good direction, but this should be part of the game since 1.0, because it's a game about WW2, and these kinds of attacks were integral to that war.
 
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My thoughts exactly. No doubt this is a move in good direction, but this should be part of the game since 1.0, because it's a game about WW2, and these kinds of attacks were integral to that war.

This is also mostly what you expect the battleplans to do ...
 
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Oh so no decision yet.
B is for switching the strategic deployment move, btw.
Yes, that's the minor overlap he mentioned. :D
#itsoundedlikeagreatideaatthetime
 
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So if you only care about ports and coastlines you can select only ports and coastlines for the order.

Well that will make me nigh on invincible as China.
 
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I foresee a vigorous discussion about blitz command being a paid feature.
I was never quite able to put a finger on it, but expansions for CK2 and for Eu4 were different, in that in CK2 we pay for entirely new stuff, but in Eu4 half of paid for features are interface upgrades and stuff that makes your live easier, the other half being new stuff.
I see that Hoi4 is even less subtle than Eu4, whereas if Heinlein is of any indication, Stellaris goes the same way Ck2 does.
 
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Honestly the way you describe the blitz command should just be how the normal advancement arrow works. You draw out the boundaries of the area you want the army to take and it takes (or tries to) that area. Can't think of any reason one would use the regular kind since you could simply select a large area and it would behave exactly like the regular command no?
 
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I was never quite able to put a finger on it, but expansions for CK2 and for Eu4 were different, in that in CK2 we pay for entirely new stuff, but in Eu4 half of paid for features are interface upgrades and stuff that makes your live easier, the other half being new stuff.
I see that Hoi4 is even less subtle than Eu4, whereas if Heinlein is of any indication, Stellaris goes the same way Ck2 does.

Well we only know of a single feature that is going to be added in a paid dlc (containing (hopefully), multiple (new) features) for HOI IV so only time will tell the direction of HOI IV in terms of DLC.
 
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you could simply select a large area and it would behave exactly like the regular command no?
No. The execution of the regular order tries to adapt to changing situations, tries to not overextend too much etc. The blitz just straight up rushes exactly the provinces highlighted when the arrow has been drawn, no matter what risks.
 
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